Downtown Redevelopment Ranks At No. 8

Editor’s Note: Each year, the Times Record newsroom staff votes on the Top 10 local stories of the year. Redevelopment projects in downtown Fort Smith ranks as the No. 8 story of 2013.

Editor’s Note: Each year, the Times Record newsroom staff votes on the Top 10 local stories of the year. Redevelopment projects in downtown Fort Smith ranks as the No. 8 story of 2013.

Three major historic preservation projects, comprising eight structures in downtown Fort Smith, put the city in the top tier for downtown renovation in Arkansas.

Tom Marr, rehabilitation tax credit coordinator for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, said that while Conway and Little Rock have several historic preservation projects underway, Fort Smith "may be in the lead" when it comes to the number of downtown buildings being renovated for new business.

"I’d say you guys are probably in second place," Marr said Friday. "All of a sudden I have eight applications here, and I haven’t counted all of the others, so Fort Smith may be in the lead."

The distinctive, triangular shaped 102-year-old Friedman-Mincer Building at Texas Corner is the most visible of the current downtown renovation projects. It was saved from the wrecking ball this summer by Steve Clark of Propak Logistics.

Located where Rogers, Towson and Garrison avenues meet, the 24,000-square-foot building has undergone structural support improvements since early August as part of a $2 million renovation. Clark intends to move his Propak offices to the second floor and lease space on other two floors with a hopeful move-in date of June 2014.

Propak provides logistics, transportation, warehousing and supply chain management services to locations in 19 states. Its offices are now at the Arvest Tower on Rogers Avenue, which is also undergoing renovations.

Responding to rumors of a microbrewery operation showing interest in the first floor, the architect for the Friedman-Mincer renovation project, Tim Maddox of deMX Architecture in Fayetteville, says there are currently no tenants in mind for the ground-floor space. However, he said it was early enough to work in special requirements.

Already on the National Registry of Historic Places as part of the West Garrison Avenue Historic District, the Friedman-Mincer Building is in stage two of a three-phase application process for a 20 percent federal tax credit and a 25 percent state tax credit of maximum $125,000.

The building’s namesake, Lewis Friedman, was a Hungarian immigrant who came to the U.S. in 1888, at age 15. He served as Fort Smith postmaster from around 1930 until his death in 1944 and operated several Fort Smith businesses, including a liquor store in the 400 block of Garrison Ave., before Prohibition. The 400 block location, coincidentally, is where Griffin Properties is doing a $3 million renovation project to create commercial retail space and apartments downtown.

Six structures in the 400 Block of Garrison Avenue will become Garrison Pointe West and The Breezeway Apartments by late 2014. Plans were approved by the Central Business Improvement District in April. Marr sent off part one of the Griffin Properties federal tax credit application to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

The building interiors at Garrison Point West and The Breezeway Apartments will be reconfigured to include about 5,300 square feet of commercial/retail space, 12 upscale, one- and two-bedroom apartments, and a breezeway connecting the structures. The breezeway will feature a gated area with a pavilion for use as a rented event and entertainment area.

Young people working in the area are the prospective residents Richard Griffin and his son Rick Griffin of Griffin Properties expect to show the most interest in the apartments.

The Griffins have been leaders in downtown renovation since the 1990s, from Frisco Station, which is now part of the National Park Service, to Adelaide Hall and The Varsity in 1995, St. Charles Place, and at least seven other downtown properties. The devastating April 21, 1996 tornado that hit downtown Fort Smith barely missed the newly constructed Adelaide Hall.

While he may dabble in some new residential construction, urban sprawl is not a popular idea with Richard Griffin.

"I grew up in an era when everything was downtown," Richard Griffin said. "I hope I’m not just a nostalgic fool, but I have always had an affinity for the downtown area. I happen to believe that the soul of a community is its downtown and I didn’t want us to lose our soul."

Griffin serves as chairman of the Central Business Improvement District Commission.

Bennie Westphal also has an application for historic renovation tax credits in with the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. His property at 117 N. 9th St., just off of Garrison Avenue, has an interested tenant.